Weaving their way between the crowds of spectators and presentations, students flooded the West Campus commons of Manhattan High on Thursday night, listening to the many speakers of the elective fair.

“The environment at the fair was a little stressful but it was a learning experience and the people there were welcoming and informative,” freshman Ally Doud said.

Closely resembling what a science fair or art fair may look like, the elective fair is a promotional gathering of MHS’ many elective groups in an attempt to attract new members among the incoming freshman and sophomores.

“It was nice having people at different booths to help me with any questions I had,” freshman Hannah Heger said.

The many groups, which included Manhattan Area Technical College, Woodworking, FFA, A/V Communications and more, set up presentations around different tables in the commons. Accompanied by students and members of the group to talk to the different students, they used student’s interests to attract them to the right elective group for them.

“It’s important because you don’t really know what you like and dislike until you actually try it,” Doud said. “It’s basically a test to see if it’s the perfect fit for you.”

Students at the fair can spend time at a certain booth or elective that interests them, and get a quick look at what they may want to do. All of the electives are in a different career path, which applies skills to a pathway that students can explore while at MHS.

“There are many electives you can chose from and many teach different things that can help you later in life,” Heger said.

In addition to the booths, there were conferences held in Rezac Auditorium for the different classes. These conferences discussed the different courses students could take.

The fair also allows students to explore more in depth what classes MHS has to offer, rather than just simply relying on the descriptions in the course catalog.

“The elective fair is way for them [students] to talk to teachers or maybe some other kids who have already taken those classes that can really tell them about what it’s like to be a student in those content areas,” teacher Kristy Nyp said.

Overall, the elective fair provided a wide-range of different elective groups that gave students and parents a look at the many options MHS offers to students and created an influx of potential members for the elective groups themselves.